Quinnipiac Poll: Women Give Clinton Slight Lead Over Trump Nationwide

The women's vote boosts Democrat front-runner Hillary Clinton to a 4-point lead over Donald Trump in a potential fall matchup, but her edge narrows to a 2 point virtual tie with a third-party candidate in the mix, a Quinnipiac University Poll  released Wednesday shows.

According to the poll of 1,561 registered voters conducted from May 24-30, and carrying an overall 2.5-point margin of error:

• Clinton: 45 percent-Trump 41 percent
• Sanders, 48 percent-Trump 39 percent

But when third-party candidates are added, Clinton's lead narrowed to being too close to call:

• Clinton, 40 percent
• Trump, 38 percent
• Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson, 5 percent
• Green Party candidate Jill Stein, 3 percent

The poll shows Bernie Sanders with a 9 point lead over Trump in a head-to-head race.

In a breakdown between Trump and Clinton by sex:

• Men: Trump leads, 51-35 percent
• Women: Clinton leads, 54-30 percent

The survey also shows that independents favor Trump over Clinton, 40-37 percent.

Clinton and Trump's favorability rates were very close:

• Clinton: 57 percent "very unfavorable" or "strongly unfavorable" rating; 37 percent "strongly favorable" or "somewhat favorable."
• Trump: 59 percent "somewhat unfavorable" or "strongly unfavorable"; 34 percent "strongly favorable" or "somewhat favorable."

And in other rankings between Clinton and Trump:

• 56-35 percent: Clinton is better prepared to be president than Trump
• 51-37 percent: Clinton is is more intelligent
• 47-36 percent, Clinton has higher moral standards
• 44-39 percent, Trump is more honest and trustworthy
• 49-45 percent, Trump is a stronger leader
• 48-39 percent, Trump is more inspiring
• 47-39 percent, would rather invite Trump to a barbecue
• 47-41 percent would turn to Clinton during a personal crisis
• 52-41 percent Trump would be better creating jobs
• 51-43 percent that Clinton would be better handling immigration
• 49-41 percent that Trump would be more effective handling ISIS
• 53-40 percent that Clinton would better respond to an international crisis
• 46-44 percent, Clinton on sending U.S. troops overseas
• 55-33 percent, Clinton on making the right decisions regarding nuclear weapons
• 48-45 percent, Clinton would do a better job getting things done in Washington

Among potential presidential spouses:

• Former President Bill Clinton: 48 percent of voters feel "somewhat" or "strongly favorable"; 46 percent "somewhat" or "strongly unfavorable
• Melania Trump: 23 percent "somewhat" or "strongly favorable," 20 percent "somewhat" or "strongly unfavorable" and 53 percent who haven't heard enough to form an opinion of her.

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